


The Tragedy of the Devil’s Back

by karloaf



Category: The Tragedy of the Devil’s Back
Genre: F/F, Fantasy, no vore, okay maybe i should get more serious tags and not shitpost here, snake girl mc, theres a boat in the middle of a desert
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:54:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,814
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26206018
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/karloaf/pseuds/karloaf
Summary: Among the various things the serpent Heiress Zahshu imagined herself doing, it was not being an deck-hand on what may as well have been a fiction when she was cast out of her kingdom. She had make something of herself. Instead of exploring possible business partnerships for the Bajran State as her family were doing, she was pestered and annoyed along a path out of her homeland and toward craggy hills by an odd raven she calls Pigeon, where she instead found The Great Sands, a wound in the world that she thought, by some chance, there would be an even greater reward when she had arrived.To her disappointment, all she met was a strikingly beautiful stranger, who spoke cryptically of their chance meeting, right before they were whisked away on a sail ship that came to them through the sands, off to a new unknown under the Great Sand’s second sun.—Cross posted from my wordpress to make it easier to read.





	1. Chapter 1

_It had been nearly one hundred years since the gods had clashed in open battle, the realm’s delicate balance disrupted by a single act of violence, the first wave in a tsunami of a divine conflict that had all but destroyed one third of the planet. Religion was an empty, cult-like shell of what it used to be, in wake of that part of the world only known as the Great Sands._

Among the various things the serpent Heiress Zahshu imagined herself doing, it was not being an deck-hand on what may as well have been a fiction when she was cast out of her kingdom. She had make something of herself. Instead of exploring possible business partnerships for the Bajran State as her family were doing, she was pestered and annoyed along a path out of her homeland and toward craggy hills by an odd raven she calls Pigeon, where she instead found The Great Sands, a wound in the world that she thought, by some chance, there would be an even greater reward when she had arrived.

To her disappointment, all she met was a strikingly beautiful stranger, who spoke cryptically of their chance meeting, right before they were whisked away on a sail ship that came to them through the sands, off to a new unknown under the Great Sand’s second sun.


	2. C.1

Annoyance followed a lone woman through the craggy hills and came in the form of a raven.

Or, more specifically identified as a pigeon by the Heiress of Bajra, named Zahshu from the very mouth of the High Queen, cited from their great ancestral serpentine histories. 

It was said that she had set out from her home to complete a trial required of all royals— an assessment that Zahshu strongly disagreed with— and was making her way through craggy hills with sparse trees toward what she had assumed was the Great Sands with the large black bird as company. 

A bird would have been an easy meal for Zahshu, as a serpentine pureblood could still swallow a small creature whole as a snake would, provided their form matched one. Despite the name, she typically looked much closer to that of a celadon human with long black hair, flecked with black scales upon her cheeks and other key spots, all covered by her gold catalyst bracelets and one piece fitted black suit, matching the black bird that followed her. 

She thought, casually, that she could swallow this little black pigeon if she wanted to. This annoying little meal came out of nowhere when she set out, and she could make it disappear out of nowhere if she chose. 

It was a decision that she contemplated; a fine idea, as she was the one in control of this situation and a jaw that could unhinge itself. The feathery snack must know that its life is now in her hands. She ran her forked tongue over her teeth watching it hopping beside her tall heeled boots as she walked, sparing it the occasional glance. The rocks and lack of paths taken were not kind for one with feet glad in _Hensaptu_ designed heels. 

“Watch it,” Zahshu hissed.

“Watch it,” The ‘pigeon’ croaked back at her. 

“I said that-AH—“ She was cut off by a dip in the road as her foot fell and failed to find ground, meeting it quite fast. The rocky dirt clung to her well-moisturized skin, making it even more apparent how different this place had been from her home’s verdant vegetation, ideal humidity and _warmth._ King’s fangs, the air was so dry and cold it could cut skin!

Everything sought to bring her adversity, whether it was the perilous world outside or her prestigious family. They decided that blood alone was not enough to ascend to the upper echelons of her house within Bajran high society, all of it absolute bullshit. 

She had a keen eye for aesthetics! Strong wills! She spoke and read in several languages! A great literary patron _who did not deserve to be in such a shit story_! A mostly complete magus training course! The making of the next Monarch and yet that means nothing to the family because all they want is some stupid idea of proof that she’s ready! 

“ _Crrrrroak,_ ssSaid…Watch it,” said the bird, mimicking her drawn out _sss._

_Annoyance continued to come in the form of a pigeon._

“Shut up, pigeon!” Zahshu grimaced as she lifted her head, faced with the corvid companion that mocked her with its beady little eyes. She lunged for it as her body shifted into a sleek black asp, missing the bird by mere inches as it took off into the trees.

Fine. Proof they will get. Bajrans may have had magic in them but she would have more than just that.

Zahshu announced when leaving the palace grounds, “I am taking a sabbatical— and don’t send anyone to watch me because you’re going to hear about it!” 

She did not elaborate what it was going to be, as it was a “surprise”, but an opportunity arose that night on the arcanet— or an _inssspiration_ that had struck. There were always people, other serpents and well-off humans of her state, who took trips to the Great Sands. Arcanet images of people coming to visit but never truly venturing out there. It was said the sun never set once you were out in them. No serpent was really sure, even with traders’ tales of monstrosities and rumored mage lords. 

No serpent ever came back to let them know. 

Despite all of that mystery, really, who cared what was in— what Zahshu assumed— was an empty desert? If nothing was really there, she’ll take a tasteful picture of the remaining monuments and go somewhere else to strike a trade deal as all of her siblings had probably done like the bunch of bureaucratic show-offs they were. 

Whatever mystery was ahead for her and the bird, she would meet it soon. Eventually, the rocks beneath her scales grew finer, until it was fine sand. It felt like time had hardly passed as she approached the more desert-like environment, gliding more seamlessly over the terrain. It appeared to still be dusk while she left the craggy hills.

She reminded herself that she was a genius for remaining a snake, as no sane person would walk upon sand with _feet,_ let alone in her tall heels. 

“Town. Civilization. Where’s the damn water?” The black pigeon mimicked from above, again pulling from its arsenal of Zahshu sounds. 

The bird, given its great vantage point, saw something Zahshu could not, and so she sped along the sands toward the visible horizon, which soon enough, produced the vaguest of silhouettes through the dust— a town! 

_Civilization at last! The furthest I’ve been from home and I can finally be somewhere!_

There was an occasional squared off building in the lineup but others appeared to be domed buildings— or tents. A snake’s eyes were not the best but there was also a decent amount of traffic coming in and out of the odd town, felt by the vibrations through the earth. It was much more populated than Zahshu had anticipated, thinking that this was more of a check-in area rather than a town with no great hall for the guests to enter. 

Though, there was a check in. And a line, observed as she slithered closer. 

The bird— She had decided Pigeon would be all it would be worthy of being called— had hopped next to her and croaked. 

She looked at them with her beady eyes, expectantly. 

“Too much,” croaked Pigeon. 

With a hiss, Zahshu slithered back to a rock, with Pigeon hopping behind her, shifting back into her humanoid form for a moment to say, “The least you could do is carry me in, Pigeon. I’m not _that_ heavy and I am definitely better than a queue!” 

Pigeon tilted their head and croaked before hopping up and down. 

Whether the bird would help or not, she knew she was a capable snake and would continue on until she could get in. 

Pigeon dutifully hopped along with the slithering Zahshu, though this time, was taking the lead. 

_Where is this pigeon taking me?_

They had gone around the perimeter of the town, of which Zahshu had no idea of its name. No arcanet guidance was used to get _specifically_ there and so no names were known by the Heiress. However, Pigeon seemed to have a place in mind when they were hopping along with the snake in tow, her slithers kept at a slower pace to see where this bird could possibly be going. 

Rounding the back of the town, they both had a view of the departures, to the Great Sands! Sleds for the caravans headed out, or those on mount-back, whether that were lesser wyrms, horses, camels… or something approaching from the distance, larger than any animal Zahshu had seen. She had stopped moving to observe it from the ground where she was. Part due to seeing what could possibly be coming from the distance and the other were simply from the _smells_. It took her back to the livery that was in the far parts of her home state, where they used to breed and keep animals for livestock, a practice seen as excessive for the state in common times now. It was since repurposed for sport animals, for those who could ride for the pleasure of it and exert their serpentine command over them. 

In short, it smelled awful. Perfect senses had their price. 

_Croak_. Pigeon had stopped and was hopping and flapping their wings at her. 

Zahshu hissed at the bird and they continued along, and once into the town, Zahshu shifted back into her humanoid form once behind enough cover, pulling out a pair of _Rimmuling_ steel-framed sunglasses and donned them. She followed Pigeon until they took off into the air, causing her to run to keep up, nearly stumbling over to see where they had landed. She didn’t even have time to really observe anything that weren’t the buildings she was slithering around or the one Pigeon she was chasing— She hardly noticed that she had possibly just pushed a few people out of the way to get to her destination! 

A particularly disgruntled, large but odd looking man adjusted his pack, full of sales goods, most likely as he looked back at her, eyes stabbing into her lack of manners, as well as some confusion at seeing her. His attire was loose but covered much of his body. In fact, many of the people going to and from all wore different clothes than what Zahshu had seen at the home state. It was almost maddening how dated and loose they all looked compared to her own, where everything fit close to her body. Hideous! _Poor! Overburdened with a root-sack you call a shirt!_

“…What kind of… did that orc just sneer at me?” Zahshu muttered under her breath, unsure and squinting, until she felt the familiar bird claws dug into her scalp. 

She began swatting at her head while squawked at by Pigeon! 

“An appropriate response to someone who stands in the middle of the road, especially for one who looks like they lack manners,” A flat, feminine voice stated.. 

“First of all, you’re all beginning to look the same—” Zahshu began, walking and turning toward the voice. 

Its owner was a woman, paler than she had ever seen. _A bloodless corpse of a girl._ She must have been human, Zahshu ready to dismiss her, stopped to look the woman over. She truly looked as if she lacked the dark melanin of the humans from her home, as well as any of the blush many of them carried in their veins. Truly sheet white and marble-like with geometric grooves running down her cheeks, she was the image of death with a black feathered cape draped over most of her form, obscuring the rest of her body. Her gaze, framed by the fringe of her somehow even white hair, was sharp with electric-lambent eyes that pierced Zahshu with an unexpected sense of contempt. 

She could have been someone Zahshu regarded as pretty, but the woman had startled her with the gaze, and the presence of weapons had not detracted from the impression. The woman carried an ornate long bow and wrapped brutish stick weapon.

“Bird… raven, this is who it must be? Really… this one?” The more-striking human woman asked Pigeon, still firmly planted on Zahshu’s head. She let out a sigh and sauntered over.

Those electric eyes looked the snake up and down. A meeting was supposed to take place, as three visions told the pale woman; a lady accompanied by her Queen’s guide, to join her on this journey that would end in her freedom. She felt a sense of annoyance that she could not quite place, as if the serpent before her had been a long forgotten splinter that was making itself known after so many years. 

She gritted her teeth the more she stared the snake down before finally letting it go, a soft whirring from inside her head as she did. 

There wasn’t any use in trying to recall how she could have such a reaction to someone she couldn’t remember. 

Zahshu stood upright, forcing herself to be taller than this rude humanish woman, “‘Really?’ is what you would greet me with? The Bajran Heiress?” 

“My apologies, what is that supposed to mean? Am I supposed to believe you’re that important?” The woman had asked, offensively genuine. At this point, it was a certainty that a memory was not going to be needed to feel contempt for the scaled aristocrat. 

“Heiress! Snake!” Pigeon mimicked Zahshu, emphasizing the s of her words again. 

“My name is Zahshu!” Zahshu yelled up at the bird.

“I do not know anyone by that name,” The woman sighed, knitting her brows, “What exactly are you doing with _my_ guide? Oh, this must be a mistake…” 

Zahshu composed herself, asking snidely, “Why don’t you ask it? It followed me here, you know. I have my own reasons for coming out to this dump.”

“Lead! Lead!” Pigeon squawked. 

The woman sucked in a deep breath, features falling right into annoyance, “I— Okay. You will wait here with us, as your attendance is required here.” 

Zahshu frowned, “What the fuck is that supposed to mean? I have my own deal out here, you know. I don’t get how this Pigeon has anything to do with it so…” 

“That _raven_ has everything to do with it. Our attendance was decided long before we both arrived here by the Dusk Queen,” The woman said, crossing her arms, gaze flickering over to the large bird. 

“Dusk Queen? Isn’t that a god? You’re religious?” Zahshu’s face became mirthful, “So; I need to stay and wait for something with a proselytizer. Going to get me to join your cult and serpent-skin harvesting ring?” 

The woman had taken a second to process what was being said to her and huffed, “Call me what you will, but know that nearly everything from now on, for reasons we both don’t know, are to her script.” 

“I can’t believe this shit but okay, fine. Do you even know what you’re going to do out there? Is there even anything out there?” Zahshu grimaced— _Who decided this shit?_

“It is something of a debt collection and delivery, to make it plain, since it seems that you don’t know much about the Dusk Queen,” The woman said, still keeping the details close to her. 

“We don’t _do_ religion where I’m from. But fine. Be vague. I’m out to look for…” Zahshu trailed off before getting pecked, “Pigeon!” 

The woman raised an eyebrow, venturing a guess, “That is a raven. Are you looking for the world lost to the sands, then?”

“…Yes! Yes I am,” Zahshu said with a smile spilling across her features, holding her hand over her forehead to stop Pigeon from pecking her. She felt herself tremble, like some part of her had been seen. It was a creeping sense of humility while she was here, realizing that she had not prepared to tell anyone who would ask what she was doing. Or that her poor forehead was marred by pecks. 

“It is in your best interest then, to wait and come with me. What you want to see will be out there. And we have, what I have heard termed as, a ‘ride’,” The woman said, voice becoming level once again. She tilted toward the sands as the a… sound began to approach while keeping her eyes on Zahshu, who resembled a quivering stick.

“What is that sound?” Asked Zahshu.

“The ‘ride,’—” Said the woman.

At that point, the sound had become so cacophonous as it approached and Zahshu couldn’t hear her anymore. In fact, she could have her question answered very quickly as the source approached, so very, very clearly. Merchants were scattered to the side, hauling their camels with them as the thing approached. 

“TOWN HO!” shouted another woman’s voice, from atop a vehicle fitting a mariner! 

Zahshu blinked several times as the vehicle broke its own slide and kicked up a wave of sand as it came to a stop just outside the town. 

“Is that a boat?!” She shouted.


	3. C.2

The boat labored to a halt, throwing sand all over everyone in a great radius around them. _This is insane,_ Zahshu had thought while getting sand in her hair and suit! 

Pigeon squawked and shook the sand from their coat, looking equally annoyed. 

The white haired woman, however, seemed to only need to shake once to let the sand fall out of her cloak and hair, approached the marine vessel while raising her voice, “You’ve arrived, Captain Winnower. Thank you for agreeing to taking us on.” 

From the deck of the ship, a red-haired woman— another young… human? Zahshu could not tell from her position, nor was she looking too closely as she was still getting sand out of her eyes. All she knew is that the sun reflected off her _her_ very pallid skin as well, a trait that only humans and elves possessed. 

“Us? And Just call me Torley, love. You _freshies_ are so proper!” Torley bellowed a foreign and obnoxious accent, jumping off the gangplank, landing with a thud in the sand below. 

She continued, “Right, so the snake’s with you? You weren’t real specific with with who you were bringing along. Thought you were just a pet owner.”

Pigeon made an annoyed sound.

Zahshu perked up from hearing herself being referred to as a simple _snake,_ aloud no less _._ She got a better look at the woman that had somehow jumped down from a ship without breaking her limbs and was aghast— 

Half this woman’s face was ripped off! The more Zahshu looked at Torley, the more she noticed was missing. This captain hardly wore clothes, save for a bikini top and incredibly cropped-at-the-cheek shorts, revealing the masses of white, freckled skin missing, along with the grey-blue musculature underneath with metallic facets keeping them in place. A walking and talking horror of a woman! 

“What the fuck…” Zahshu uttered, rattled by the ragged walking metal corpse before her, “A walking corpse with a ship that moves on sand…”

“Oh-hoh. I have that effect. Don’t worry, love. I’m just fine,” Torley “winked” with the one good eye she had. One could never be sure with a cyclops.

“Fine… sure. Whatever you say,” Zahshu nodded, eye-roll concealed behind the sunglass lens. 

“So! You’re here for the job too, right? Or just company?” Torley asked, still at a higher volume than necessary, while bouncing on the balls of her feet. 

“Just looking to get further into the Great Sands,” Zahshu said, opting to look at the white haired woman walking past them, who was grabbed at the elbow by Torley. 

“ _Hey, not so fast, Raven Girl,”_ Torley whispered low to the woman.

The white-haired woman stopped as she was touched, eyes slowly traveling down to the mangled, awful hand holding her in place, whispering back to her lowly, “Let go of me. _We haven’t agreed to anything._ ”

 _“Yeah, nah mate._ Good! Do you have the fare?” Torley asked as she turned back to Zahshu, smiling.

“The… Yes let me see,” Zahshu said, feeling about for her wallet within her suit’s pocket. Topping the suit’s minimalist designer status, the wallet was of fine leather, studded with precious metals, no doubt of the highest quality and sourced within the state of—

It was empty save for the Bajran Central Bank card. She felt a slight warmth crawl up her cheers and her eyes sting. _Bless these glasses, because I’m sure they’re all I fucking got right now_. 

Torley rocked higher on her toes— a woman a good deal shorter than Zahshu, frowned at the lack of bank notes in her wallet, “Tsk, know we don’t take _plastic_ here. And your android companion?” 

The white haired woman frowned, jerking her arm back from Torley. She recalled their meeting from when she woke up, sand teasingly being knocked off her from the Captain as she pulled her from a shallow grave, wearing that same mocking smile. 

She wondered, how exactly, she was going to keep civil for the rest of this journey. 

Torley nodded, “Right. Too new to have anything to her name, save for the fancy cloak. So. Job then?” 

Zahshu gripped her wallet tight and took a deep breath while shaking, “Sure.”

“GREAT! I’m happy to have two new girls for the expedition. Do you know what we’re doing out here? Just saying yes because you’ve got confidence that this is just a fun little romp in the sands?” Torley asked, seemingly malicious joy persisting, “Just saying you did say yes a bit readily.”

“I know what my goal is, as do you, Captain. I hope my… companion has hers in mind,” The woman said through gritted teeth. 

“Absolutely fucking not but I’m not going to be left flat here,” Zahshu said. 

Pigeon pecked her again in what felt like admonishment.

“Great,” Torley dropped her joyful demeanor like a hot coal, “We’re going to revisit some places b’cause I’ve got some unfinished business way out there. I need some help in going to these places because people have died there and well, no one had the good sense to tell me why. So. You’ll be good with that?”

“I doubt it’ll be a problem,” Zahshu said with the most confidence she could muster. There was little in her mind that was a threat other than not having a place to go and being subjected to more Pigeon torment. 

Torley slapped Zahshu and the woman’s shoulder with great, unexpected force, “Glad to hear it. Now, before we board— TURGEN! THE PAPERS—,”

She had screamed back to the ship, where a shirtless man— an orc with similarly grooved skin to the woman and the captain— had come running out with some paper in hand, bounding down the side of the ship via the rope instead of crashing into the sand. He was quick on his feet, even graceful for what Zahshu would have expected from someone so inelegant-looking.

Turgen darted back to the ship as soon as the papers were in his captain’s hand. 

“Right! Here they are. Liability papers. My very own lawyer said I should have these signed before anything,” Torley gestured with her hand and swiped an aetherial surface into existence right before the three of them! Her use of magic looked so natural, like any other gesture. 

Zahshu’s head bobbed, “So you can just… do that with your hand.” 

“Took some time to figure out. Doesn’t work right out of the box for the ‘droids, so to speak. But yeah, just sign your names on the dotted line,” Torley said, slapping two pens on the table. 

“Excuse me but ‘droids’? Like, android?” Zahshu balked, straightening her back and pushing her sunglasses up. _Just what were these people?_

“Android, doll, whatever. I just like android more. M’not a toy, y’know,” Torley gestured over herself, “This is fine engineering you’re looking at.”

Zahshu hummed a note, eyes drawn to the exposed mechanical musculature. 

Sure, fine. 

The woman next to Zahshu strode forward and took up a pen, beginning to scrawl out her name very neatly with no surname. _Eilidh_ , spelled out in antiquated Continental Script, start to finish with clear definition. It had been a mostly straight forward writing system that many of the books she had consumed back home were written in. 

The lettering, nowadays for Bajran trade documents and inter-principality communication, was far simpler and less intricate. Learning the past was for historians and, for the archivists, those looking to understand documents of eld. 

Neither, however, was what Zahshu had truly learned it for. It was, as she put it to a sister once, for exploring dramas of the past, since everything made these days were so _boring._

Eilidh’s eyes shifted over to her, brow raised in curiosity as to why Zahshu had been staring for so long. The snake woman had been a loud one and did take to staring a lot with little blinking. 

“Eye-lid?” Zahshu quirked her words while utterly butchering her name. 

“Ay-lee. Eilidh,” Eilidh corrected, “Is there something wrong with how I wrote?”

“Huh. Never saw a name like that before,” Zahshu said, scrawling her own name out, thinking about the minor lie she had told. She had, indeed, seen names of similar nature in old texts from a kingdom that was no more. A small bit of excitement welled inside of her, for just a moment, that she may get to know more about a world she had only read of prior. 

“You should travel more, then,” Eilidh said, looking over at Zahshu’s signature, “Doubling down on having nearly three times the name I possess. I see.”

While Eilidh hadn’t had much of a reason to feel the immense irritation she felt upon first impression of this girl, she certainly had some now. It was difficult not to, with one with such a loud mouth, all justified based on the station of her upbringing. 

“It is what it is,” Zahshu retorted, finishing her signature with “Heiress to Bajra”. It wasn’t like she had her family’s seal with her— it simply wouldn’t fit in the suit’s pockets. Arcanet slab, useless wallet, glasses. That’s it. 

Amidst their exchange, Torley snatched their papers away and dispelled the surface, looking over them for a beat, turning around to head back to the ship, waving their papers in the air, “Oh, looking good enough. Alright, welcome aboard _The Devil’s Back_ , girls. Get moving.” 

Eilidh wasted no time and strut forward toward the ship, giving a high pitched whistle. She looked back at Zahshu— no, at Pigeon, and frowned, continuing her stride toward the ship. Her goal was straight forward and she would waste no time getting to it.

Zahshu was in tow, power-walking after her, not feeling that Eilidh was worth the immediacy of a jog. Suddenly, she felt unstable on her heels and stumbled into the sand. She looked up, just barely, at Pigeon’s beak, “You _will_ carry me up this time. I know you can do it.”

She received a peck for an answer. 

She wasted no time becoming an asp, Pigeon’s claws closed around her, taking off. The sensation of lift-off took Zahshu back to an odd point in her life, during her even more youthful days in Bajra as a little serpent of six years old. She had just figured out how to shift into her serpentine form— she had been proud to crawl through the open air gardens. She had been behind the others in her family in being able to do this and really would not let herself be held back by the confines of just doing this in her _room_. 

Though, her joy was short lived, as she was snatched up by a large black bird, being whisked away into the sky, the familiar garden leaving her faster and faster. She was in a panic, squirming and stuck between a hiss and a scream as the sharp claws dug into her soft sides. 

Then, out of nowhere, an arrow struck the bird and she came tumbling back to the earth below. 

Zahshu landed on the deck with a thud. The wood was smooth, its well kept-ness a stark contrast to its dilapidated captain. It was somewhat more difficult to slither over than the sand but she made her way over to the rope ladder, meeting Eilidh there. She had a feeling of smugness as she watched the white android ascend, having to suffer through actually climbing up such a steep, awful ladder. 

Eilidh stopped for a moment, staring at her for a moment before reaching out with her hand— she recalled a fondness for at least holding such creatures, despite knowing full well that this black sentient belt was a spoiled brat of a princess. 

_Finally tolerable,_ She thought. 

Zahshu slinked forward with the hand offered, wrapping herself around it, tasting the air as she did, feeling astounded. Eilidh had the faint smell of her feathered cloak, undoubtedly a real one, and the rest was an intense flavor like lightning had struck and the air was split open. Nothing like she was expecting— certainly nothing like a human at all. 

It was a breath of fresh air compared to the corralled animals below.

Eilidh held and inspected her, giving Zahshu an up-close view of her eyes, confirmed to have been given a light glow, and a shifting aperture within them, twitching as she observed. She looked past the snake, seeing that Pigeon was hopping along, squawking at her feet. 

Eilidh said, placing her hand back down, “Zahshu the Asp. You should stay this way.” 

Zahshu spoke as she shifted back into her full form, “Do you just pick up snakes when you see them? Is that one of your rituals?”

“Your jabs are unnecessary. You almost looked friendly,” Eilidh scoffed, “I will go claim my quarters. Lady raven, will you come with me now?”

“Their name is Pigeon now,” Zahshu stated, crossing her arms. 

“New name,” Pigeon said, in an amused voice Zahshu had not heard before.

“I do not think they appreciate the name. But, Pigeon must come along now. We have an important matter to attend,” Eilidh said and walked away. 

Pigeon croaked and hopped along to follow Eilidh below deck, claws making little taps as they descended. 

Zahshu sighed, shaking her head and remaining on the main deck, fishing her arcanet slate out, using the reflection capturing feature to take pictures of the view of the town below, herself on the ship. They could work as some kind of proof that she was at least here for a moment, feeling like this could be the last time she sees a town for some time. She looked out toward the dry sea that was the Great Sands, spotting something that she had not quite noticed before, thinking it initially as the moon—

It looked like a ball of light far in the distance. The sun? 

No, it was not— as she saw the sun was peeking above the horizon, looking a deal smaller than the orb in the distance. _The place where night never comes_. 

Zahshu captured the image for herself, finding the composition striking, nodding as she also began her descent into the ship, watching her steps on the precarious stairs. It was decided that there was simply enough adventure for her— and too much time awake if the sun was coming up. All she needed to do was to find a room where she could be warm. But, not one without a window— a proper room needed a window! 

The deck below the top had included a dining hall, rich with the acrid scent of cooking— it was smokey, pungent and full of the iron laced scent of blood. Hardly a place to sleep, she kept descending to the lower decks, where she had finally found the rooms. 

While the top deck had been kept smooth, waxed and finished, the paneling in the lower halls had not received attention in what seemed like many years. Some of the rooms still had rusty decorations upon their doors that collected incredible amounts of dust. What does she have that orc man around for if things get dusty? Was he not here to maintain the ship?

The door before her had a wreath on it, full of synthesized flowers around a verse, one of which Zahshu may had thought belonged to some dead cult. There were a lot of those, she reminded herself, as it was taught once in her “History” class. It was one focused mainly on Bajra and had foot notes on what brought about the Great Sands.

She tried the door, finding it locked. She kept shaking it, as if the door would open and show her what was inside, rattling filling the hall.

“Whoa, don’t do that,” A masculine voice said. 

“Fuck, don’t sneak up on me like that!” Zahshu exclaimed, whipping around with her hand ready to claw at the man talking to her. 

He was a tall, skinny blonde thing. An elf of some kind with his hands up, grossly elongated with terribly smooth and pale skin. Like a human or serpent but somehow wrong, along with a horrifically soft face with rounded features.

“Sorry, you must be one of the new people. I tried to tell the other new girl the same thing. The locked rooms already belonged to people,” The elf slowly explained, with a terrible little smile creeping onto his face.

“Belonged? Past tense?” Zahshu inquired, “What?”

“Yeah,” The elf said, “Torley has her reasons and stuff for keeping them locked and said not to open them— like, that was my grand—” 

“Ugh, okay. So are there any rooms open here? Hopefully with a window?” 

The elf paused, blinking a few times before speaking, “Mmm. Just keep walking. I think you have a spot with… Allie?”

“Eilidh, yes,” Zahshu said, eyes suddenly widening, “Wait, I have to share?!”

“I’m not entirely sure? But a lot of us end up doing that at one point or another.” 

“Well, sucks to share, so. I’m going to look for another room,” Zahshu declared, turning away from the elven youth and walked further down the locked door-lined hall. These quarters were a museum stored below the decks and a hardly well-maintained one. To have traveled many miles from home only to be given such shitty quarters. 

She could still hear the beanpole behind her still trying to say something as she rounded the corner and it had nothing to do with having her own room. She had better things to do than hear what he had to say if it wasn’t about that. 

Ahead were two chambers— this must have been the rear of the ship, which meant that one of these must have had a view from it. With natural light and not the fluorescence from the bulbs lining the deck halls. 

The doors were sparsely decorated, noted Zahshu, as she approached and tried the handle on one. _Locked._

Grumbling, she tried the other, elated when she found the knob would turn, pushing into the room! 

Eilidh and Pigeon turned about-face from the window, looking every bit as displeased as Zahshu to have found each other again. 

They were sat upon the only bed in the room and it seemed that Zahshu had interrupted a conversation as Eilidh said as politely as best she could, “Can I _help_ you?”


	4. C.3

_This was ridiculous_ , the both of them thought while locking eyes. 

“Are you kidding me!” Zahshu shouted while marching into the spacious room, trying to find a fabled second bed, “This is a joke, a fiction, a fucking farce— They couldn’t have put two in here? Or a… a factory box for you?” 

The situation, as far as Zahshu was concerned, was that of a terrible comedic scenario she had read many times before, inflicting a sense of twisting illness in her stomach. She _would not_ share a bed with that stiff automaton. 

“You appear to have. Just. Stormed into _my_ room,” Eilidh commented and stepped away from Zahshu, “I believe I have justification to say _I don’t appreciate that_ and to _please leave._ ”

“I’ve tried every room on this floor and not one on my way here was open! Is this it? Just the one room? I cannot believe the planning of the captain. I’m going to file a complaint,” Zahshu said with conviction. 

“Well, no need, just go somewhere else. Nothing is keeping you from searching the rest of ship,” Eilidh said while raising her brow, hopeful that the snake princess would continue to begrudgingly follow her advice. 

Pigeon took their own lead and leapt down from Eilidh’s arm, hopping toward Zahshu while croaking. 

“She clearly doesn’t need help,” Eilidh insisted. 

Pigeon squawked, flying at her for a moment and then returning to their spot on the floor, mimicking Eilidh’s voice, “Help.”

“I don’t need he— HEY!” Zahshu hardly got her words out before Pigeon pecked at her shoes, “These are designer leather! Stop that, Pigeon!” 

Pigeon kept it up until Zahshu was through the door frame, squawking the whole way. 

“That’s enough! I can yell at her myself if I need to,” Eilidh said, marching over and gripped the frame. She leaned over Pigeon. 

Pigeon turned about and squawked at her next. Between this bird and Zahshu in this moment, she would not have been sure which would have driven her to a headache sooner but together, there was only one sure, speedy trajectory. 

“You’ve meddled enough—,” she frowned and clenched the frame. 

“So you can just understand bird squawks?” Zahshu raised her brows. 

“I understand her in other ways,” Eilidh nodded at Pigeon, “I know this is just a conjured vessel of the Dusk Queen. I assumed you had some experience as a being of magic—” 

“How do you know that this is your god talking to you?” Zahshu looked like she just tasted something foul asking that question. 

Pigeon hopped in a circle. 

“You can’t tell? You must not have sense the magic,” Eilidh said while maintaining her frown. 

Zahshu shrugged, “Why should I? No one in Bajra talks about old divinities and _everything_ has a little magic in it.” 

“…Old,” Eilidh shook her head, “Age has not—”

“No, I mean. Who actually still talks about religion? As far as any sane person is concerned, gods are dead or haven’t done shit for people in so long that— So long that no one cares anymore. I just think that people woke up and realized that it was a scam,” Zahshu turned her nose up at Pigeon, “Besides, what proof is there of them even existing anymore?”

Eilidh leaned back in surprise, “You. You can’t honestly mean that. They aren’t all dead, you know. Especially not a god as timeless death and fate. As for your proof—” 

“Save it. I need to find another room,” Zahshu declared, backing out into the hallway. 

“I don’t understand,” Eilidh said with a sigh, stepping out into the hallway, “You’re confused then try to shut me up when I try to explain. What quarrel do you have with me?” 

“Not sure, maybe it had to do with the whole religious stranger thing, saying you’re part of some bullshit plan. It’s fucking creepy,” Zahshu said, waving her away.

“I’ve hardly said anything ‘religious’. I simply stated what I was doing here and that you are involved!” Eilidh continued her path out of the door, face twisting ever so slightly, “Regardless of what we do, we’re stuck on this path and can’t get off of it. This has nothing to do with me preaching or whatever delusions you’re under. I don’t even be—”

Pigeon hopped ahead of her and squawked louder at her words.

 _That’s being involved in your stupid religious prophecy, idiot!_ was what Zahshu wanted to say.

“Look, just. Leave me out of it. I’m here to do my own thing out there, without anyone else telling me what that is,” Zahshu conceded. 

Eilidh scoffed, “You can believe that if you want.”

She may have sounded unsure of what she was saying earlier in getting Zahshu to embark with her, but there were truths she could be certain of. Visions of events that have already come to pass and will soon come to pass sat in Eilidh’s vacant memories, with Zahshu firmly planted in them, from their meeting in the departures to laying facing each other on glinting bloodied sand under a burning star, below an impaled figure— a final quarry come to be slain. 

Such visions were all that were a promise to her, events that must take place before she is free of her bound path, one that she could not plainly see. 

The bound path, nonetheless, was one she had to walk with the clueless Bajran royal. 

_Achieve that final vision under the second sun and you will be free_. 

“Well, then, _excuse me_ ,” Zahshu rolled her eyes behind her sunglasses and strut away toward the stairs, descending to the lower decks without any additional company. She wouldn’t be needing _her_ from now on. 

As she descended, it struck her as immediately strange, that the halls were so empty. Sure, she had seen the one orc deckhand and the pale beanpole of an elf, but the crew seemed too light to be running a ship this size. It wasn’t something Zahshu was about to dwell on, however, as the less people she had to deal with, the better. 

She thought of her home once again, a large house that may have not been a boat but what is the difference if only one is static? Anything this large should need more people to assist, as the Bajran royal estate had been concerned with the upkeep of its palace, where it housed Zahshu and her extended family. 

She recalled she couldn’t leave her bed room hall without at least seeing one attendant ready to attend to her, whether that be getting her refreshment, food, adjusting the blinds or the lights in the hall… 

Zahshu signed, taking the steps down the rickety, soft wood stairs. There was no carpet to balance her pointed heels as she went into the darker lower decks. She felt a frown creeping onto her face again. 

What a place to be. 

The lower decks were darker than she would have preferred, though what she saw ahead was unlike the previous decks, where there would have been living quarters split into dual halls or a dining galley, there was a makeshift wall constructed, with a barred door. The wood was bound with metal, and was a very different material than the ship’s construction. Rough and stiff, as if it were dead. An odd way to put it, Zahshu though, as the ship was definitely not a living thing. 

The air about this blockade, however, was off. The atmosphere felt stuffy and dense, and while there were the regular creaks from the winds from the desert, however regular it was for a boat in a desert to experience that, there was another feeling. She felt it in the air, and felt it within herself, a pain in her heart, like she was hearing terrible news, in the middle of a funeral where the attendants were all sobbing. 

Only, she thought she had begun to hear it. Sniffing and moans of sorrow— Zahshu could feel her scales bristle. _Just what kind of cargo was Torley carrying?_

“Oh, fuck this,” she cursed, thinking better of looking further in the ship, she turned about and rushed up the precarious stairs, stumbling as she did, pausing in front of the skinny elf on the way up, though looking past him toward Eilidh’s open door. 

No! She would not be going back there— And so she kept up her ascent. 

As she emerged, it was much brighter than anticipated— two suns in the sky generated a pure white brilliance that surely washed out the color around them. The air was fresh, stuffiness of the lower decks lifted. She could, at last, breathe in some decent air. 

Up on the deck, she saw Torley smoking a rolled cigarette, hair since been tamed from the wild red mess it was before into a… ghastly pompadour. She was looking through what Zahshu assumed to be the ledgers and the orc man-android— Turgen, was hauling boxes up from the side of the boat via a pulley. Puzzling, given that either were beings of magic, both of which didn’t need spells or a focus. There was also a light-blue devil beside him, taking crates into his arms. He hardly looked like a laborer— more like the lawyer the captain had mentioned or some kind of doctor. Hardly built for labor but was just managing to assist. 

Most devils, especially those with human features like this one, were hardly physical laborers. Blue devils, especially in Bajra, were known as contract magi or professionals— 

Unless of course, they were bound by contract to do as such, a designation hardly reserved for someone as professional as this one. It was difficult to tell from where Zahshu had stood but understood that parental lineage had much to do with it, much like her own had decided she was bound for royal attendance and innate magics. The specifics were not completely known but the blue devils in attendance at the Bajran court often looked older, had oily black scleras and high, rigid horns, and were rumored to have access to true, real magics that were beyond what most in the court were capable of, making them a party that Zahshu remained weary of. 

Regardless of his origins now, they were bound for life on a boat for however long this journey takes, pending the Captain’s tastes.

Zahshu looked back over at Torley, whose eye met hers. 

Torley gestured her over with a finger, smoke escaping from the gaps in her body.

Zahshu’s heels clicked on the deck as she stepped over, waving a ‘Yes?’ gesture once she was before Torley. 

“Heard you didn’t like the arrangements and got into a spat with your coworker,” Torley said smiling, voice low and taking another drag from her cigarette. 

“Maybe. Am I under surveillance?” Zahshu shrugged as she asked. 

“Ain’t surveyed if you’re loud. And have a friend’s grandson that’s boarding down the hall from you. Anyway, you listed yourself as a Bajran Heiress, right?” 

“I am.”

“Look over my shoulder at Kholtar.”

Zahshu scrunched her face, “What?” 

Torley rolled her eye, “Kids and not even reading the maps on their slates,” cursing under her breath, “The town, tartlet.”

Zahshu looked over at the town where the merchants and traders had funneled in and out, the gate at the Great Sands. It didn’t take immaculate vision to see the light green or emeralds associated with a Bajran serpent. Yet, there they were, in the crowds, clear by pigment alone and in her state’s colors. The pair, right from first sight, were of a lower caste, purely by occupation and wear alone. 

“So. Here’s the thing. I know you’re on the move and I’m getting the feeling you didn’t really say to your mom and dad where you were going. You hopped up on the first thing in town and signed a contract. I don’t think you read it. Go ahead and nod if you want,” Torley continued speaking lowly, smoke pouring out of her. 

Zahshu stood stiffly, still focusing on the figures in the crowd. She thought about it. Leaving the sandy trap before they took off. Snatching the signed contract, clearly stapled to the ledger and burning it. 

Torley continued, “Now. On my ship. You’re going to cooperate with me and the crew. Mostly me. This is easy here. If you want to make a mess of everything, have your regrets down the road where I can toss you off larboard and you can rough it back to civilization or die out where no one will find you. I can drop you off easy in Kholtar. Your fellow statesmen can come fetch you and take you home to do whatever your family wants. Though, if you want to stay— and I think you do, against any sense that’s in that head of yours. Know if you start a fight on the ship I can throw you off of it if I want when we’re far out there.” 

The pair Bajrans were making their way through the crowd. Zahshu thought about what she had said before leaving, a grand display that she would absolutely die from going back on. She took a deep breath, “Fine. I’ll play by your rules on here. But I’ll follow only what they say—”

“Oh, you think I write things like that down?” Torley chuckled, “Ever hear of the captain’s word?”

“No, but I’m guessing what you say goes,” said Zahshu, nose wrinkling. She didn’t like the nonspecific direction of where this was heading. 

“Great! Fast learner. I like that, don’t fuck it up,” Torley laughed, the surviving half of her face smiling wider, “So, I only heard what sounded like an argument with Eilidh. Care to tell me what that was about?” 

Zahshu pulled away from the side of the deck, until the Bajran statesmen were out of view, “She’s, to put it plainly, fucking weird and you’re making me sit in there with her?”

“Hey, she can’t help being a little odd. Okay, eventually, maybe after a year and she still acts like that you can start to hold it against her,” Torley laughed, “Yeah, sorry, arrangements are arrangements. Don’t go trying to open the other rooms. I’ll know.” 

“So, what is _that_ supposed to mean?” Zahshu groaned.

“You don’t have to sit in the room with her. Hell, you can sleep anywhere on the ship if you want,” Torley gestured, “Anywhere that’s not locked or clearly dangerous. Listen, it’ll be fine.”

“What? I mean, back up to the after a year thing,” Zahshu said. 

“Oh, right, never met one of us before. We’re not exactly, um, how do I best put this? You die one day, then get to come back sometimes as an android. The catch is after you’re ‘born’ is that your head is positively empty— nothing about yourself that you can remember. Totally reborn, and you’re clueless,” Torley mimicked shooting a gun with her fingers, for _some reason,_ “It’s kind of cute, though, with how clueless they all are at first. Listening to a little set of instructions. Having an outdated version of the world in your head with nothing about yourself in it. Maybe a bird is telling you to do a job. But yeah.” 

“That’s. Still cryptic. Doesn’t stop it from being weird,” Zahshu shrugged, “So. Is she going to get the same talk I did?” 

“Maybe,” Torley looked back down at the ledger. 

“So it’s just me that has to suffer?” Zahshu whined— Royalty deserved better! 

“I didn’t say that,” Torley said, wagging her finger, seemingly looking over the signed papers, “Such perfect script, that Eilidh writes with. Awful. She’s going to be so boring.”

Zahshu looked over the ledger, only to have it clapped shut in front of her. 

“Do you really have a lawyer?” She asked.

“Absolutely. Do you take me for a liar?” Torley grinned as she answered.

Zahshu hummed. 

“Good answer. Anyway, seems like the boys are done loading the supplies,” Torley brushed past, “Take off is a little rough, so you’ll want to wrap yourself around something, miss.” 

Zahshu took a deep breath, inching closer to the original spot she has stood on the ship, sneakily peering toward the crowds again. 

Torley must have made her wait to whatever navigation wheel or console was on the ship, and announced through the arcane transmitters aboard, voice crackling through, “Alright crew, we’ll be taking a swift turn around so be ready to secure your things lest I have to send Turgen to clean your guts off the wall because someone thought they didn’t need to secure their weapons. Real story—“

Peaking over the ledge, Zahshu saw the Bajrans were close now, close enough to where she could see their visible scales glinting, attention caught by Torley’s announcement. 

All three serpents stared at each other for a moment before the ship roared and suddenly jerked, sending Zahshu back, where she shifted into her snake form to soften the impact. 

So long to the world she knew, as the ship sailed into the big, empty Great Sands.

**Author's Note:**

> https://thetragedyofthedevilsback.wordpress.com/2020/06/16/example-post-3/
> 
> ^A mirror of this site.


End file.
